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Strange garden object

james 239james 239 Posts: 50
in Problem solving
Hello group, 

I have recently moved into a new property and there is a strange barrel that looks to be concrete and cemented into the ground. I have no idea what it is and wouldn't want to take a sledgehammer to it before knowing it's safe to do so. 

Here is a photo of the object, any help would be seriously welcome.
Many thanks
James


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Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited April 2018
    My first thought was that it might be a home made smoker  ... I've seen a few but I've never seen one quite like that and I'm not sure why it'd need to be made of concrete... have you tried asking the neighbours?

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Does it open or have a hatch?
  • dave125dave125 Posts: 178
    I presume it is hollow? A buried lump of concrete which had been formed by filling a barrel could easily have something incredibly sinister within. Even if it's hollow be careful there could be a Zombie in it.
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    edited April 2018
    It's definitely concrete, is it? How odd. Is it thick concrete? Have you tried poking it with a stick just a bit, to see how robust it is? 
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    If it didn't have the air brick which hints at some sort of combustion hence my idea of a smoker, I'd say that you've had a first year sculpture student living in your house ... it's amazing what some of them find to make casts from ... I know, we had one living in our student house when I was at art school 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited April 2018
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • Kitty 2Kitty 2 Posts: 5,150
    It does look like it's been cast inside a plastic barrel.
    I've no idea what for though. 😕???

    As raisingirl already said... have you tried poking a stick in the airbrick to see if it's hollow?
  • ThankthecatThankthecat Posts: 421
    This might be stating the bleeding obvious, but can't you contact the previous occupants and ask them? 
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Dovefromabove said:
    My first thought was that it might be a home made smoker  ... I've seen a few but I've never seen one quite like that and I'm not sure why it'd need to be made of concrete... have you tried asking the neighbours?
    Maybe a home made incinerator for garden waste? It might just be upside down. Air brick for draw and you could chuck a foot pump on that pipe use it like a bellows to get it really burning.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • JellyfireJellyfire Posts: 1,139
    That strange bolt thing doesn’t look like a pipe so much as an earthing point? Does the nut come off, is the pipe hollow or a piece of solid metal There isn’t something electrical inside is there? Very odd 
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